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Australia

Great Australian Train Trek

Program No. 3110RJ
Experience an immersive adventure through an incredible landscape — traverse Australia by rail on two iconic train journeys.
Program
At a Glance
Duration
27 days
Program Begins
Sydney
Program Concludes
Sydney
Meals
66 ( 24B, 22L, 20D )
Activity Level
Journeying by railway isn’t just travel — it’s an immersive adventure that allows you to truly take in the vastness of Australia, from the Sydney Opera House to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu National Park to the Great Barrier Reef and beyond. Stitch together amazing natural beauty and fascinating human history on an extraordinary four-week journey that encompasses the best this immense island continent has to offer.
Best of all, you'll...
  • Journey on Australia’s two iconic trains: the Indian Pacific across the Nullarbor Plain and the Ghan from Darwin to Alice Springs.
  • Enjoy a boat cruise through World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, a unique archaeological and ethnological reserve, to view Kakadu’s abundant bird life.
  • Attend a performance at the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House and enjoy an expert-led exploration of this iconic building.
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David O'Brien
Originally from the island state of Tasmania, Dave O’Brien has lived in North Queensland for more than 30 years. Working as a biologist almost his entire career, Dave has been involved in reptile research, aquaculture, government organizations, private enterprise and owning his own business. Outside of work, Dave’s interests include birding, photography and long-distance running. He has been married since 1986 and has two adult children, presently living in Melbourne, Australia and Alberta, Canada.
Please Note:
This expert may not be available for every date of the program
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Sue Grebenschikoff
Sue Grebenschikoff is an instructor and site coordinator in Cairns. Originally from Sydney, Sue moved to Cairns 20 years ago after she fell in love with the tropical region. Sue has a bachelor’s degree in commerce with a concentration in marketing, is a keen gardener, and loves to travel and meet people. She has worked in various capacities for many years on award-winning wilderness adventure programs around tropical North Queensland.
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Andrew Fitzgerald
Andrew Fitzgerald is a keen astronomer with considerable experience presenting information on stars, planets, our solar system, and the galaxy to large groups. He regularly presents a session on the local radio station informing locals and visitors of current astronomical features and events. Andrew’s wealth of knowledge enhances sessions exploring the features of Southern Hemisphere skies.
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Cherie Toovey
Equally comfortable in high heels or hiking boots, award-winning local expert Cherie Toovey has explored Western Australia in depth utilizing accommodations from luxury hotels to backcountry campsites. She regularly helps learners discover sites ranging from Rottnest Island, a conservation area on the seacoast noted for its quokkas (a rare marsupial species), to the Parliament House in Perth and the wine-producing Swan Valley. Cherie enjoys sharing her love of history and geography with Road Scholar program participants.
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Rayleen Brown
Rayleen Brown is an Aboriginal who worked as a project officer to help Aboriginals secure their traditional land. She now owns and operates a successful catering business that’s been specializing in traditional bush products and foods for the past 10 years. In addition, Rayleen is a member of the national Bush Foods Council, an educator for schools across Central Australia and a mentor with the local Desert Leadership Program. She continues to be a strong advocate for the Aboriginal people to this day.
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Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd is a retired secondary school principal and teacher. After teaching mathematics at four Sydney high schools, he was appointed the principal of Hurlstone Agricultural High School, a school on 200 acres of farmland with 300 boarders, mostly from the country in New South Wales. He and his wife Robyn (also a retired secondary school principal and Road Scholar group leader) have traveled extensively with their two daughters. As group leader, Michael loves to share his passion for his homeland with Road Scholars.
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Martin Ludgate
Martin Ludgate was a lecturer at Charles Darwin University in Alice Springs, where he lectured and managed the educational travel program. Now semi-retired (although still doing some lecturing and leading educational excursions), Martin has a keen interest in local history and culture as well as the landscapes, flora and fauna of the Northern Territory. “The great pleasure of enabling Road Scholar participants to bring alive their desire to experience a sense of Outback Australia, which they have heard so much about, makes my involvement so rewarding,” Martin says.
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Ann Newman
A born and bred West Australian, having lived in Perth all her life, Ann Newman is passionate about West Australian bush, particularly the unique wildflowers. After beginning her botanical quest at the West Australia Herbarium she has spent 30 years in horticulture, cultivating native plants and lecturing on native plant cultivation in gardens. Ann started leading wildflower tours from Perth over 20 years ago and is still employed in this field. She has been involved with Kings Park for 30 years as a volunteer leader.
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Mary Gordon
Mary Gordon has had a career full of variety, with university qualifications in science, wildlife and park management, and occupational health and safety. Her roles across Australia have ranged from caring for reptiles at the Museum of South Australia and looking after visitors to the Northern Territory Wildlife Park to running an ecology project at the University of Melbourne and setting up her own vineyard. Having returned to South Australia, Mary is thrilled to be able to educate visitors about her homeland.
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Russell Boswell
Russell Boswell is the manager of Savannah Guides and Savannah Way Limited. A long-term Cairns resident, Russell’s background is in education and marketing. His travel career has included group and safari operation, magazine publishing, and training local experts. Russell sits on several industry committees and has been the proud recipient of a Cassowary Award for services to Wet Tropics nature-based travel.
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Hirani Kydd
Hirani Kydd has a background in biology and zookeeping, and began leading groups in the Wet Tropics in the mid-2010s. Hirani loves anything to do with natural history, but particularly enjoys the interconnectedness of all lifeforms within an ecosystem, and how they work together or against each other. The Wet Tropics is a fantastic place to see this. When she is not thinking about biology in a landscape, Hirani is probably thinking about geology instead.
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Elspeth Kyle-Little
Elspeth Kyle-Little is an Adelaide-based group leader and site coordinator. During the Road Scholar offseason, she cooks at a local restaurant and operates a small business making handmade soap. After studying silversmithing at art school in Adelaide in her 20s, Elspeth moved to Darwin and then remote Arnhem Land in Australia's far north until her mid-forties. Now settled in the Southern Adelaide Hills, she dabbles with watercolor painting, pottery, and gardening.
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Craig Mackey
Craig Mackey's interest in steam locomotives developed during his university days and has remained his passion since. In 2008, he was offered the role of project manager in charge of overhaul of Australia’s most famous preserved steam locomotive. He is currently the archives supervisor of the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS). Established in 1933, ARHS now constitutes the largest private collection of archives pertaining to railways in Australia. Craig enjoys travel, exploring, and photographing what remains of the NSW Railways, and dabbles in model engineering.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to three miles at a time at a normal public walking pace over varied terrain. Standing at least three hours daily; climbing stairs (at times without handrails), getting on/off buses and boats, carrying own luggage. If you believe you require wheelchair assistance to get through an airport you are not fit enough to participate in this program.
Suggested Reading List
View Full List (20 Books)
You can also find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
We can help. Give us a call, and we can answer all of your questions!
Call 800-454-5768
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Peace of Mind

We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. That’s why we go to the ends of the earth to give you peace of mind, from the moment you enroll until the day you return home.

Assurance Plan

Road Scholar's continued commitment to our participants and their well-being is exemplified whether participating on a program in the United States or on one of our International programs, every Road Scholar participant receives coverage under our Road Scholar Assurance Plan.

Want to Protect Your Investment?

Road Scholar is pleased to offer its Trip Protection Plan as a way to protect your program investment. You may purchase this optional trip protection plan when enrolling in your program.

Sustainable Travel

We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Read about our commitment to a more sustainable planet.